Apparatus for guiding lead wires to be soldered to crystals



Feb. 5, 1 K. A. SCHMULDT APPARATUS FOR GUIDING LEAD WIRES TO BE SOLDERED TO CRYSTALS Filed Dec. 9, 1948 INVENTOR ;K.A.$CHMULDT BY ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 5, 1952 APPARATUSFOBGUIDING LEAD WIRES T 113p sopngnnn To CRYSTALS Karl A. Schmu'ldt, Emmaus, 'Pa., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York,fN'. Y.,' .afcorporation of New York application December 9, 1 948, Seria1 No. 64,386

I .4 Glaims. (o1; na -99 This invention relates .to apparatusifor guiding lead wires to be solderedito crystals andhas for its object, the provision'ofa guiding; unit formed of members which maybefreadily machined to accurate dimensions and easily" assembled to form an accurate guiding path for theleadwires.

In the manufacture of electrical-unitsinwhich quartz crystals or synthetic crystalsare to be embodied as important parts thereof, lead wires must be soldered accurately to given portions of the crystals whereby the crystals may function pr p rly n their e pect ve" u it Th l d wires are of exceedingly small, diameters and unless means is providedito accuratelyguide the lead wires in a pathrelative to'a f xed location for the crystals, the lead wires maynot be soldered to the required locations on the crystals. Heretofore, tubular guides as shown in Patent 2,409,615 to T. A. Daniel, have been employed to guide the lead wires relative to the crystals during soldering operations. The tubular guides were difficult to produce in that suitable tubular material with an inner diameter of the desired size was not obtainable, making it necessary to drill rod stock in orderto'prpduce an aperture approaching the dimensions desiredmfor guiding the lead wire. This was not completely satisfactory in that' subsequent heat treatment of the guide after the drilling operation frequently resulted in variations in the dimensions of the guide affecting theguiding 'aperture."' Furthermore, a circular aperture of a size approaching that of thelead wiretto accurately guidethe wire resulted in undesirable friction affecting longitudinal advancement of the wire.

In accordance with the aforementioned ,Qbject, the invention comprises" an-apparatus-for guiding a lead wire infa given path when fed longitudinally to a crystalitowhich' the "leading end of the wire is to be soldered, the apparatus including a guiding'unit composed mainly of companion members which, when-grouped together to form the unit,have surfaces lying tangential with the path of the lead wire to guide the lead in the path.

In thepresent embodiment of the-invention, four members compose the wire guiding unit, these members being substantially identical in general contour with the exception of the fact that two of the members. are longer than the other two providing a.shoulder;adjacent-the path against which the-lead wire-may be :forcedby a spring pressed clamp :to hold'the wireagainst longitudinal movement. Thev guiding unitlis-s ecured to a holder which is adjustably-mounted in a support reciprocablerelative'to a tablesupporting the crystalythe reciprocation I of which causes longitudinal advancement of the' lea'd Wire.

Other objects andadvantages'will be apparent from the following detailed description, when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing; wherein r Fig. 1 is an isometric view of the'ap-paratus, a portion thereof being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary isometric view of the apparatus illustrating the structure of the members forming the wire guiding unit; and Fig. 3 is an isometric view of a crystal, after the lead wires have been-soldered thereto.

' Referring now to the drawing, attention is first directedto a table It upon which a crystal H is positioned in a predetermined location by the aid of locating elements l2 and I4. A lead wire I5 is to be fed longitudinally to a given spot on thecrystal ll whereby the leading end of the lead wire may be soldered as at is thereto.

The apparatus for guiding the leading Wire l5 includes a wire guiding unit indicated generally at 18- and composed of four members is, 2!), 2i and 22. These members may be formed 'of suitable material, preferably hardened steel and are machined to identical cross-sectional dimensions whereby their longest lateral dimensions being identical and equal to the shortest lateral dimensions plus the diameter of the lead wire I5." With this difference in the dimensions of each member when assembled as illustrated in Fig. 2, a Wire guiding aperture 24 square in cross- -section and having a known dimension throughout its length which is substantially equal to or minutely greater than the diameter of the lead wire. The lower ends 260i the members it to 22, inclusive, are tapered inwardly whereby the operator may more readily observe the leading end of the wire in the-performance of the soldering operation. The members 2! and 22 are of greater length than the members 59 and 20 as shownin Fig. 2', a portion of the member 2! being cutaway at 21 to'provide a surface 28, the members Zl lying in a plane with a surface 29 of the member 22 which forms the adjacent side of the aperture 24.

' The'unit l8 composed of the members iii to 22, inclusive, is positioned in a U-shaped mounting element 3i which-is secured toa holder 32 by the aid of screws 33. It will be apparent that the legs'of the U-shaped element 3.! are shorter than the width of the unit iii-whereby the unit [8 may beforc'ed' against a surface 35 in a recessed portion 3t of the holder 32 and in this manner be firmly held in a given position relative to the table 18. 'Areciprocably movable head 38 has. the holder 32 mounted thereon, the head being movable between given limits toafiect adva'ncement of thelead wire longitudinally through the guiding unit it during. each operating cycle. The h'older 32:has1a projection lil integra1 there'- withisupportinga handled! which functions in combination with a clamp 42 when the operator is .desirous of moving the clamp out of clamping engagement with the lead wire. A thumb engaging portion 43 of the clamp carries a spring 44 engaging the projection 40 of the holder 32 to normally move the clamp 42 about its pivotal connection 45 with the element 3| to urge its wire engaging portion 49 toward the surface 29 of the member 22 to cause clamping of the lead WlIe.

During operation of the apparatus, the lead wire l5, extending through the aperture 24 of the unit l8 and held therein by the clamp 42, is moved downwardly until its leading end engages the proper spot on the crystal II. The lead Wire is held in this position for a length of time sufiicient to complete the soldering operation and solidification of the solder after which the apparatus will be moved upwardly relative tothe lead wire. During relative movement of the apparatus and the lead wire, it will be apparent that the circumference of the lead wire will be engaged at equally spaced lines where the four sides or guiding surfaces of the aperture 24 throughout the length of the guide unit l8 are tangential to the circumference of the wire. These surfaces are made as wear-resisting as possible and are positioned relative to each other as a result or the initial machining of the members iii to 22, inclusive, whereby the lead wire will be accurately guided in a given path toward a predetermined point or portion of the article or crystal to which the wire is to be secured by soldering.

It will be apparent that should the surfaces defining the aperture 24 become Worn through continued use, the unit [8 may be readily disassembled and the members l9 to 22, inclusive, ground to recondition the surfaces forming the aperture 24. During the reconditioning processes, the only requirement necessary to assure the accurate dimension of the wire guiding aperture, is that the difference between the width and thickness of each member equal the dimension desired for the lead wire to be guided.

It is to be understood that the above described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof. I

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for guiding a round cross-sectional lead wire in a given path when fed longitudinally to a crystal supported in a, predetermined position relative to the path and to which the leading end of the wire is to be soldered, the apparatus comprising a guiding unit having members substantially identical in cross-section with one cross-sectional dimension of each member being greater than the other cross-sectional dimension by approximately the diameter of the wire whereby the members when assembled into the unit will form a longitudinal wire guiding aperture through the unit which is square in cross-section and which has a cross-sectional dimension substantially equal to the diameter of the wire, and means to support the unit with the longitudinal wire guiding aperture coincident with the said path.

2. An apparatus for guiding a round cross-sectional lead Wire in a given path when fed longitudinally to a crystal supported in a predetermined position relative to the path andto which 4 the leading end of the wire is to be soldered, the apparatus comprising a guiding unit formed of companion members substantially identical in cross-section with one cross-sectional dimension of each member being greater than the other cross-sectional dimension by approximately the diameter of the wire whereby the members when assembled into the unit form a wire guiding apersurface thereof, and a clamp normally urged against the lead wire. to hold it against the'extended surface of the longer member of the unit to hold the lead wire against movement.

3. An apparatus for guiding a round cross-sectional leadwire in a given path when fed longitudinally to a crystal supported in a predetermined pcsition relative to the path and to which the leading end of the wire is to be soldered, the

. apparatus comprising a guiding unit having members substantially identical in cross-section with one cross-sectional dimension of each member being greater than the other cross-sectional dimension by approximately the diameter of the wire whereby the members when assembled into the unit will form a longitudinal wire guiding aperture through the unit which is square in cross-section and which has a cross-sectional dimensionsubstantially equal to the diameter of the wire, a support for the crystal, a reciprocating head to support the unit and move it relative to the crystal to feed the lead wire thereto, and a U-shaped retaining element to partially surround the assembled members forming the guiding unit and secure them in their respective positions to the head.

4. An apparatus for guiding a round cross-sectional wire in a given path when advanced longitudinally to a crystal supported in a predetermined position relative to the path and to which the leading end of the wire is to be soldered,

-the apparatus comprising four members of like cross-sectional dimensions, one cross-sectional dimension of each member being greater than the other cross-sectional dimension by approximately the diameter of the wire whereby the members when assembled in a given arrangement will form a longitudinal wire guiding aperture which is square in cross-section with the four surfaces lying tangential with the wire, a support for the members, and means to removably secure the members in their assembled relation to the support.

KARL A. SCHMULDT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

